


Promises

by towardthesun



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, Ghosts, I simp for Hero, Post good ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28774770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towardthesun/pseuds/towardthesun
Summary: Hero didn't know what to say after Sunny told them the truth. He didn't know how he could even begin to unpack everything that he had just learned. He was mad. He wanted to be mad, and he didn't know how to stop being mad.Luckily, he didn't need to have the answers. Someone else had them for him.
Relationships: Hero & Sunny (OMORI), Hero/Mari (OMORI)
Comments: 51
Kudos: 413





	Promises

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo this isn't the next chapter of my other fic. Blame OMORI for breaking my heart. Blame this beautiful beautiful game that is just...augh. My soul. Take this fic and cry with me

None of them had spoken while Sunny told them the true story. 

Even Kel managed to keep quiet, something that only happened every ten years. Apparently all it took to get Kel to finally shut up was Sunny killing Mari and then desecrating her corpse. 

That was a mean thought. He didn’t mean that. 

Hero had stayed silent and still when Sunny had been speaking. Sunny told them about how the pressure had been building up, how he had been stressed out and frightened of failure. Sunny told them about a fight, about an innocent shove, just something siblings did when words seemed to fail them. 

Sunny told them how Mari fell, how he had heard a snap. He told them how he had carried her up to their bed. He had laid her down- he thought it might help. He didn’t know when Basil had come in, didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He had been scared, terrified even. He just wanted his sister to wake up, but she wouldn’t. 

Basil had helped him to carry Mari outside. Basil had found a rope. 

They had kept it a secret, promised to never say a word. But a secret like that was too much to bear, and it was wrong. It was all so very very wrong. Sunny told them the truth. 

Sunny had killed Mari. Sunny had killed his sister, and he and Basil had staged her suicide. 

A high whining white noise had started up in Hero’s ears when Sunny began speaking, and now it drowned out his final words. Sunny was saying something, but Hero couldn’t hear it. He could read the words  _ I’m sorry, I”m so sorry  _ on Sunny’s lips, but he couldn’t hear it. Hero didn’t want to hear it. 

He didn’t care if Sunny was sorry. Sunny should be sorry, he took Mari. He took Mari away and now she was gone. Hero’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, and they shook with potential energy. He wanted to stride over to where Sunny stood swaying like a leaf and strike the younger boy. He wanted to push Sunny down and hit him until pale skin turned black and blue. He wanted to do something, anything, to get rid of the terrible weight that had found a home in his chest. He wanted...

He wanted to kill him. 

Hero needed to leave. 

His legs moved without his permission, carrying him towards the door. It took every ounce of his restraint to not stop as he neared Sunny. He knew if he did he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back, and that wouldn’t be right. Hero ignored the part of him that was screaming to hurt Sunny, ignored Kel calling out after him, ignored the small part of him begging to stay and help his friends. 

Slamming the door to Basil’s room felt inexplicably good. Finally there was a physical release to the emotional turmoil that was driving him insane. He wanted to do it again, slam the door over and over as if that would change what he had just learned. Hero had promised himself last night that he would stop running from how he felt. He would stop hiding himself away, and he would be there for his friends. That wasn’t possible anymore, not now. 

Now the urge to hide was back, eclipsing everything else. He wanted to leave, to slide himself into his bed and sleep and sleep and sleep. He wouldn’t dream, he would just rest. Then after that he could get in his car and drive back to school. He wouldn’t have to be here. He didn’t have to confront this. He didn’t have to think about this. He could just leave. 

But blocking his exit was Mari. 

Mari stood in the entrance to the hallway with the doors out of the hospital. She was wearing a simple white dress, the same dress they had buried her in. White dress, white socks, shiny black shoes. Her hair tied back with a white ribbon, a good compliment to the dark color. Hero remembered seeing her in her coffin, and whatever stood in the doorway was a carbon copy. It wasn’t Mari. That couldn’t be Mari. 

Hero’s Mari had always been lively. She was pale like Sunny, but her cheeks were always a rosy red. Her eyes sparked with joy, and her hair flew around her in a wild mane. This Mari was limp, white, not pale, and her eyes were dead and dull. There was no life in her cheeks, no bursting laughter and gentle smile. 

This wasn’t Mari. 

Mari was dead. Mari was dead, and she was buried in a coffin in the ground. Mari was dead, and Hero had only just visited her grave for the first time. Mari was dead, and her beloved piano was gathering dust in a house that no longer belonged to her family. 

Mari was dead, not because Hero hadn’t protected her, but because Sunny had killed her. 

Mari was dead. Sunny had killed her. The words continued to roll around in his head, over and over as he stared at the apparition ( _ Not a ghost. Mari is dead. Sunny killed her. _ ) of the girl he had loved so desperately. She watched him back, just watching him with a blank expression. Sunny was the sibling who wore the blank expressions, but here she was. Blank. Empty. 

This wasn’t Mari...but seeing her shadow was too much. Hero pressed his palms into his eyes, stars bursting under his eye lids. Maybe she would go away then. Maybe she would disappear and he could run away from the pain that threatened to break him. 

“ **You Promised** ,” It wasn’t Mari’s voice, but his own that came out of her mouth. Hero let his hands fall away, looking up into her dead eyes. Without his permission, a memory floated past the words. A memory he had pushed as far down into his mind as he could.

He Promised. 

_ The night before the recital, and their little group of six had holed up in Mari and Sunny’s house. It was a weekday, and usually their mothers wouldn’t permit a sleepover, but special circumstances lead to special results.  _

_ They had watched movies all night long, snacking on popcorn and laughing into the wee hours of the day. The kids had fallen asleep first, and Hero and Mari had carried them up to the bedroom one by one. Mari had gone up first to make sure the four younger ones were all situated peacefully, while Hero stayed behind to clean up the mess in the living room. Once the bowls and cups were sitting in the sink to soak and the couches had been pushed back into their proper place, he climbed up the wide staircase, and entered into their sanctuary.  _

_ The lights were shut and the curtains were half drawn, but the full moon and the streetlamps outside cast a low light that threw the room into gentle relief. Hero stood in the doorway, letting a gentle fondness roll over him at the sight.  _

_ Aubrey and Kel were asleep together in a tent made of blankets and pillows. He was sure they hadn’t started out that way, but in sleep they had rolled into one another's arms, Plantegg crushed between them. It was incredibly cute, but Hero was sure that the second either of them awoke, the entire group would be startled awake with shouts and shrieks.  _

_ Basil and Sunny had separated out from the rest, sharing Sunny's bed in the corner of the room. Sunny always slept curled up in a mountain of stuffed animals, but Hero could just make out tufts of blonde curls in the sea of multicolored fluff.  _

_ Sunny had been quieter than usual that night, locked somewhere deep in his thoughts, and that had made Basil even clingier than normal. Still, it seemed like whatever was going on hadn’t kept either of them from sleeping. Mari was hovering over the two, her instincts forcing her to mother hen over her little brother. Hero knocked twice on the doorway, not loud enough to wake any of the others, but enough to pull Mari’s attention. She acknowledged him with a half smile, walking around her own bed and over to the doorway.  _

_ “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,” She whispered to him, holding out her hand for him to take, “Stay with me tonight,”  _

_ Hero heard the words and nodded without thinking, agreeing before he could understand what she meant. He took her warm hand in his cold one, and then it clicked.  _

_ Mari wanted him to sleep. With her. In her bed. Just the two of them. Hero gasped, and pulled away from her, backing up a couple steps and knocking his back into the doorframe. His face immediately flushed, and his breath picked up.  _

_ “I-I shouldn’t. I mean your- your dad would not like that and who knows who might um c-come in,” Hero stammered out, his cheeks burning. His heart was beating a fast staccato in his chest, and even as he denied the invitation, his mind swirled with the possibility of it. They wouldn’t do anything untoward, the kids were all around them. Still the idea of sharing a bed...of holding her close all night...waking up with her in his arms… _

_ Mari laughed at him, a melody of tinkling bells chiming in the wind that made his heart beat impossibly faster. The light filtering in from the windows cast Mari in a soft golden glow, spilling over her shoulders and giving her a silhouette shadow. Her eyes watched him with a fond exasperation, and her hand remained outstretched from where he had left it.  _

_ “C’mon,” Mari coaxed, her soft tone breaking down his already crumbling walls, “Thought you were supposed to be my big brave Hero?”  _

_ All of the arguments against taking her hand ceased. His girl knew exactly what to say to wrap him around her little finger.  _

_ Once his hand was in hers, Mari pulled Hero into sitting on the bed with her, lying them both down with a gentle nudge to his shoulder. Now they were in the bed together, covers pulled halfway up, staring into each other's eyes. _

_ His girl. His Mari. _

_ They had never truly defined what they were, never put the words ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’ out in front of the world. They had never really needed to. There was never a girl that caught his eye, never a boy that made Mari leave his thoughts. She was his girl, and Hero was her boy, and that seemed so much deeper than the childish words that others threw out at them. Something holier and more sacrosanct about their bond.  _

_ Mari’s hair spread out in a fan behind her, thick black locks falling in deep waves around them. She had one hand pillowed under her head, and the other entangled with one of his. Hero mirrored her pose, barely even daring to breathe or to blink. He didn’t want to miss a second of this, not an instant of treasured closeness to his Mari.  _

_ Moments where they were alone with one another were spectacularly rare. Usually the kids were nipping at their ankles like puppies, needing another game, another chance to dream. He and Mari didn’t normally have time to just share space, to let themselves be the almost adults that they were. It didn’t bother him, he loved being able to be their big brother, the one they wanted around. He knew that most almost sixteen year olds wouldn’t want to spend so much time with a gaggle of preteens, but that didn’t really matter to him or Mari.  _

_ He liked the way they were, he loved what they had, and the hectic joy of their days made these chance seconds of peaceful quiet even sweeter than they already were. Mari’s hand squeezed against his, and Hero took the initiative to press his lips against hers in a chaste kiss.  _

_ It wasn’t their first kiss. Hero had lost count somewhere in the years and years of being in love with the girl next door, but every single kiss he got with her still held the same magical quality as the first. It still felt like the sun was bursting in his chest. His life still felt like it clicked into place when he allowed himself to be overwhelmed by his love for her. Hero knew how lucky he was, how long most people had to search to find the loves of their lives. He had never been without his, he couldn’t remember a moment where he didn’t have Mari. They didn’t go farther than a few perfect quick kisses, lest they wake up the kids, but it was more than enough for him. Just being with her like this was more than enough. _

_ Mari pulled back first, resting her forehead against his and sighing deeply. Their bubble was permeated by the exhaustion in that sigh, by something hidden and dark. Hero let go of her fingers to brush his own against her face. She still had her eyes shut, but at his touch she opened them. They had a silent conversation, searching looks and questioning glances thrown between them both until Mari sighed again and spoke. _

_ “Sunny’s stressed about the recital. I think I may be pushing him too hard.” _

_ The worry that had begun to thrum in his chest settled immediately, and Hero laughed softly. This was normal of Mari, to worry over nothing. It was a trait both she and Sunny had, even if Sunny kept his feelings closer to the chest than his sister did.  _

_ “Sunny’ll do great,” Hero assured her, settling in to sleep, “You both will,” _

_ “I know, but I don’t think he’s enjoying it anymore. He’s been so on edge lately,” Mari brought her free hand up and worried at her lip, her eyes a million miles away, her brain running with plans and ideas, “I’ll talk to him about it soon, try to make him feel better, I think.” _

_ On any other night, Hero might’ve just gone to sleep at this point, but something pulled him back from it. Something about Mari’s tone was off, something about how tense she still was. Something. It seemed like by starting to vocalize her worries, they had begun to run amok in her mind. Hero had seen this happen to her once or twice before, and he knew how important it was to not let her brain run off the tracks.  _

_ “You’re a good sister,” Hero gently reminded her, trying to put as much emphasis as he could without tipping the scales. If he was too enthusiastic, Mari tended to overcompensate by putting herself down again to remain humble. If he wasn’t forceful enough, she wouldn’t believe him. It was hard to find the balance, and given the disgruntled look on her face, Hero hadn’t managed to walk the line closely enough.  _

_ “I don’t always feel like one,” Mari admitted to him, a familiar secret between them both. Neither of them felt good enough when it came to taking care of their siblings. Hero reached up and took her hand away from her mouth before she could start biting her nails, Mari’s go-to stress reliever, but she pulled her hand away from his.  _

_ “It’s just- I’ve been so focused on college stuff and,” Mari cut herself off here. Her hand found its way to her head, gripping her hair tightly and pulling. It looked painful, but Hero didn’t stop her. There were times when it was better to let her vent it out first. Get the poison out, and then work through it. Finally Mari spoke again. “I think Sunny feels abandoned. Like I don’t have time for him anymore.” _

_ “Mari, listen,” Hero insisted, trying again to pull her away from her little self destructive tendencies. This time she let him, and he put her hand on his chest where his heart was beating. Sometimes that helped, feeling the steady sound under her fingertips, “Sunny adores you. He knows you love him, and how much you do for him. He knows that you going away isn’t going to change that,” _

_ They were familiar words, phrases that the two of them said to each other frequently. Both of them had the same fear, the same irrational terror that somehow life changing would make things worse and not better. Hero knew it was less irrational for Mari, and as if she had read his mind, she gave the words life.  _

_ “You know how our parents can be, Hero. Mom’s wrapped up in her own stuff, and Dad is working so hard. I keep telling them that they need to make time for Sunny. He’s quiet, and it’s hard to break through the wall he puts up sometimes, but they don’t even try. How am I supposed to leave him and go to college if things are like this?” _

_ Hero didn’t immediately answer, letting the thought settle around them both. It wasn’t a happy thought, but the truth and the honesty in it demanded to be recognized.  _

_ Mari and Sunny’s parents seemed to simply not understand their son. They didn’t see the hidden depths to Sunny’s brilliance, the gentle calming presence that he brought to the table. Mari was a shining star. She was funny and caring, talented to a fault with an ability to make friends with anyone she met. Sunny took longer, but once you had worked past his outer layer, he was like his sister in every way that counted. Their little group of friends had managed to figure that out, but something stopped his parents from seeing all the treasures their son had to offer.  _

_ It hurt Sunny, and it hurt Mari to see how badly it hurt Sunny, and that affected them all. Hero sighed, not knowing how to help. He couldn’t just bake her cookies and let her worries slip away like Basil. She wasn’t Kel or Aubrey who just needed a comforting word. She wasn’t even Sunny, who could be cheered by a secret smile and a hand ruffling his hair. Mari’s pain had depth, her fear was boundless. Hero shifted their positions, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her in against him. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, closing his eyes.  _

_ “You know it’s not your job to worry about the entire world right, Marigold?” It was a silly nickname, one he had come up with for her when they were extremely young, young enough that Kel and Sunny hadn’t even been born yet. He only used it for her in moments like these, moments where she needed to be reminded that she wasn’t alone in carrying the world on her shoulders. The tension leaked out of Mari’s shoulders, and she settled against his collarbone. The sounds of the night existed around them, but Mari’s voice finally broke through. _

_ “It is my job to worry about Sunny.” Hero went to comfort her again, but she cut him off before he could even speak, her voice tight and small, “You would take care of him right? If anything ever happened to me?” _

_ Hero reared back so he could look in her eyes, but Mari had hers tightly shut, buried up against him. He couldn’t understand it, couldn’t make sense of what she had just said. Before he could even question the intention behind her words, Mari’s eyes flew open, and she clutched at the front of his t-shirt. The fearfulness from before was missing, replaced by a fierce determination and energy. It swirled around them, locking them into this moment. _

_ “Promise me Hero. Promise that if anything ever happened, ever, you would be there for him when I couldn’t be,” She nearly shook him with her intensity. Now that she was in this moment, she wouldn’t come out of it, but Hero tried in vain anyway.  _

_ “Mari-”  _

_ “ _ **_Promise_ ** _ ” Mari cut him off again, raising her voice beyond their earlier whispers. If she continued at that level, the kids would wake up, but she didn’t seem to care. She was watching him with wide eyes, almost in tears over their conversation.  _

_ Hero didn’t know what had come over his girl, but he hated to see her like this. He hated seeing her upset, knowing that something was terrifying her, but not knowing what it was.  _

_ Hero brought Mari back into his arms, closing his eyes and sighing. If a promise was what she needed, then he could give her a promise. It seemed like a silly promise in all honesty, nothing was ever going to happen to her, but Hero didn’t mind assuaging her fears, silly or not.  _

_ “I promise, Mari. Sunny’s never going to be alone. You never have to worry about that.” _

He thought that was a sign he had missed. Hero had read online somewhere that suicidal people tried to get their affairs in order before they died. Sunny was Mari’s top priority, and knowing that Hero would take care of him would’ve been the only major affair she needed to settle. She hadn’t left a note, she hadn’t given any sort of warning. The only thing Hero could’ve considered a warning was that conversation. 

He thought he had missed it, thought he had missed the chance to save his soulmate. He thought that had been the moment she told him she needed him, and that he hadn’t seen it. 

The first feeling he had when Sunny had told them the truth had been blinding anger. The second was a sick sort of relief in knowing that he hadn’t missed any signs. The third, self-loathing for daring to be relieved that Mari had been murdered. 

Even the thought felt wrong. Sunny wasn’t a murderer. He didn’t want to hurt Mari.

“ **It was an accident** ,” Still his voice, and it still came from Mari’s mouth. He wanted to clap his hands over his ears, but somehow he knew even if he did, he would still hear it talking. If this was a  ghost  apparition, then he should ignore it. If he was going crazy, he shouldn’t indulge the delusion. Instead, Hero did the one thing he had been taught never to do- he answered himself. 

“I know, but you’re still dead. He still killed you,” If his voice sounded empty coming from Mari, then it sounded too full of emotion coming from him. He sounded fragile, broken and afraid. What was he afraid of? Mari? Himself? None of it made any sense. 

**“It was an accident** ,” Mari repeated. Sunny pushing her might’ve been an accident, Hero knew it had to be, but the rest? That wasn’t accidental. “ **A mistake** ,”

“They hung you,” Hero pressed, his throat beginning to close with tears. He didn’t want to cry anymore, didn’t want to lose the little composure he had left. He had spent the last four years crying, but there was no stopping it now. Not after this. “They took your body and they hung you. They let us all think you killed yourself. That I-”

That I wasn’t enough. That I hadn’t been able to save you. He couldn’t say the words, even now it was too much. 

“ **They were scared. It was wrong, but they were just kids.”** Mari sounded more like herself, and less like him. Hero shook his head, shaking it back and forth like a child. He wanted to stamp his foot and scream, let out some of the rolling emotions that were building up more and more in his body. He felt like he was about to burst, like something dark and ugly and black would spring out of his long broken heart and tear him to pieces. 

“This isn’t fair,” He sobbed in spite of himself, hating how easily he was breaking down. All of the hope he had felt yesterday, the potential to move on, was gone. It had been ripped from him, and none of it was fair. He knew saying it out loud wouldn’t change anything, but he couldn’t help saying it. 

**“They need you.”**

Hero fell to his knees choking on cut off cries. The cold hospital tiles dug into his knees and the stinging pain was made worse by his deteriorating mental state. He didn’t want to be the strong one anymore. He wasn’t brave, he wasn’t smart, he wasn’t strong. Hero hid behind a thick layer of worship that the kids had always had for him, letting the pedestal that they put him on hide his flaws. All of those flaws were spilling out now, falling onto the floor with all of the pain he had bottled up all these years. 

Shiny black shoes walked into his vision, and Hero kept his head down. He didn’t want to look up. He didn’t want to see Mari giving him a disappointed look. That would be the one thing that was just too much to bear. 

It wasn’t fair to ask this of him, to ask him to forgive them for taking her away. 

They had taken her, they had taken his Mari, and when that happened they had taken all the joy out of the world for him. Nothing felt right without her, nothing would ever feel right again, and there was finally someone to be mad at it for. And now she wanted him to let go of that? 

He couldn’t forgive, not even for her. 

**“You Promised Me”**

Hero’s blood ran cold, and his breath was taken. Maybe this is what it felt like when Mari had died. Like in an instant the world just...ceased. Her shoes were still in front of him, her ghost still staring down at his broken soul. He had promised her, and he had broken that promise. 

He had broken that promise every day he left Sunny alone in that house, in every moment he hadn’t asked how he was. Hero had lost himself in his grief, but the rest of them had too. Kel had been alone, Aubrey had been angry, Basil had been despondent, and Sunny had been broken. They had lost each other, but they were still alive. 

Mari was dead. Sunny had killed her. 

That didn’t need to be the end of their story. 

Hero couldn’t say another word, but he managed to nod. He understood now. They needed him, all of them. They needed him, and he had promised. He willed himself to look up into Mari’s face, needing to see her just one last time. Mari’s blank expression broke with a secret half smile. A freezing cold hand pressed against his flushed skin, as real as the tears falling down his face. 

There she was right in front of him. His girl, his Mari, his love. Her cheeks rosy red, the same knowing look that she always had. Her hair tied back, but her eyes full of life. Then she was gone. 

The image of Mari disappeared, fading into the artificial light, but the cool presence against his face remained. It was calming, grounding. It gave him the strength to stand up, and the courage to turn around and walk back towards the door to Basil’s room. 

He had promised Mari he would take care of Sunny, that he would never be alone. Hero hadn’t kept that promise, and now it felt impossible. But he would. For Mari he would. 

The door to the room felt heavier than it should, but he opened it anyway. The four of them were crowded around Basil’s hospital bed, so lost in their moment that they didn’t even notice the door opening. 

Kel was sitting on one end, one hand resting on Basil’s leg, the other reaching out and clasping one of Sunny’s hands. Hero couldn’t see his little brother’s face, but the harsh straight line of his shoulders told him all he needed to know about Kel’s feelings. He was holding it together, for now, but that would break soon. 

Basil was sitting up in bed now, tears streaming down his face. He was watching Kel with a wretched expression, periodically opening and closing his mouth as he found and lost his words in equal measure. One of his hands was fisted in the white hospital sheets, the other was intertwined with Sunny’s. Both of them had white knuckles, as if somehow being connected could convey all of the emotions they both had locked up. 

Aubrey and Sunny were sitting on the other side of the bed. Aubrey was holding Sunny against her, crying quietly into his shoulder and saying something that Hero couldn’t quite make out. Her fingers were curled around Kel’s wrist in a vice. She was still scared of losing them again, and Hero probably hadn’t helped by walking out. 

And Sunny.

Sunny was staring out into the empty air of the room, his arms and body being maneuvered while his mind was occupied. Hero could see his shaking clear across the room, and whatever Aubrey was saying to him couldn’t penetrate the haze of his mind. The doctor's mind that Hero had begun to develop couldn’t help but start to give a diagnosis. In the last few days, Sunny had been quieter than Hero had ever seen him, he was distant and distracted, and he often looked around him, seeing things that weren’t there. Then the fight with Basil...

Dissociation. Psychosis. Caused by severe trauma. How would you treat this, doctor? How would you help him start to heal? Clozapine? Seroquel? Would a pill be able to fix this?

“Hero,”

His brother’s voice dragged Hero out of his thoughts. Kel was facing him now, red eyes and a cracking facade. All four were waiting for him to react, waiting for the anger to finally come out. Basil couldn’t meet his eyes, flicking his own up and down quickly to gauge a reaction, and then looking away. Sunny was back from wherever his mind had wandered away, watching, waiting. Hero stepped in and closed the door, not sure of how to start or what he could do to bridge the canyon sized gap that had been created the second he stepped out. 

Sunny pulled out of his friend’s grips, breaking away to stand and face Hero head on. Now that he could see all of Sunny, his mind continued to throw out simple statements that were easier to digest than the insanity of the situation.

Too skinny, definitely not eating properly. Deep bags under the eye he has left, patient hasn’t been sleeping. Too pale, vitamin D deficiency most likely. Still shaking, still scared. Scared of Hero. Scared of what he might do. 

Whatever courage Sunny had mustered up before had vanished, and that left behind a sixteen year old boy who was looking up at Hero with a petrified look. He wasn’t crying, Sunny was too scared of this to even shed a tear. He seemed even younger, adorned in a hospital gown that hung off of him, stark white bandages wrapped around his body, and the eyepatch covering the worst of it. 

He expected Hero to scream at him, for Hero to lash out and hurt him. He was standing there, waiting to receive punishment. As if Hero didn’t know that Sunny had been punishing himself every single day for the last four years. Hero bridged the gap between them, reaching up and pulling Sunny into a tight hug. 

Sunny flinched when he did, instinctually shielding himself from what he thought would be a blow. When the pain didn’t come, Sunny opened his eye, confused, frightened, and unsure. Hero didn’t let himself second guess his decision. He let himself cry, still holding Sunny tightly to him, not giving the younger boy even a minute chance to slip away from him. 

“I-I don’t understand,” Sunny whimpered, helpless and small, trying weakly to pull out of Hero’s hold. He wouldn’t succeed, not only because he was weaker, but because Hero’s resolve was gaining strength, “I don’t understand,” 

“I’m so mad at you,” The words slipped out. Hero didn’t even know what he was saying, but he knew it was true. It felt like how he felt when he had yelled at Kel all those years ago. He was finally pulling back the curtain and letting the wound receive treatment.

“I’m so mad, and- and  _ disappointed _ . I don’t know how I feel, or what I’m supposed to do. I loved Mari, I loved her so much. I thought I failed her. I thought I let her die, and that I wasn’t enough to save her. But she didn’t kill herself. I’m so angry, but I know you didn’t mean to. It was an accident. A mistake. You never would have hurt her, Sunny. You loved Mari. It was an accident.” 

Sunny stopped fighting, burying his face into the older boy’s chest with a quiet whine. Hero kept speaking, but he was sure he was just babbling nonsense by now. Sunny’s legs began to give out, and Hero lowered them both to the floor, tile digging into his knees once more. It wasn’t as painful as it had once been, not with Sunny in his hold. Alive, and not whole yet, but alive was more than enough for now. 

Another pair of arms pushed into the moment, tanned and familiar. Hero let one arm go from around Sunny to wrap around Kel and bring him in tighter. Aubrey was next, launching herself into the other side. She had her head down, and her pink hair was a curtain hiding her face. Three, but they were missing their fourth.

Basil was sitting alone in his hospital bed, watching the scene unfold. His hands were back in his lap, but he could meet Hero’s eyes now. Hero didn’t say a word, but he gave Basil a look. The blonde shook his head, and Hero nodded his own. Aubrey, without looking, thrust her hand out behind her towards Basil. Kel did the same, detangling from the pack without a word. The silent request was loud, there was no mistaking it or what it meant to Basil. 

The boy slipped off of his hospital bed, using his IV as a makeshift walker to get to the other side of the room. Once he was with them, Basil carefully settled himself on his knees at Sunny’s back, looping his arms around his best friend, and letting Kel and Aubrey cage them in. Hero had imagined a similar scene happening last night, but it would have been in Basil’s room. They would’ve all been laughing instead of crying, and the hug wouldn’t be quite as desperate as this one. 

Still, this felt right. It hurt, but it felt right. Mari’s cold touch began to drift away, replaced by the warmth of his friends in his arms. They were alive. Grief hadn’t killed them. 

This wouldn’t be the end of it. There would be hurt feelings and pain to get through. The anger would come back, and so would the mess of emotions, but it was different now. Now the words that he had said held meaning, substance. None of them would be abandoned alone to try and live through hell again. They had each other, and they had Mari’s memory, and they had love. Maybe that would be enough to let hope in again. Maybe that would be enough to start trying to forgive. 

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to @omorimewo for being the world's best beta, getting me into this game, and generally being a cool cat 😎😎 You're a rockstar and if you like this game you should check out her blog on tumblr and her fic for this fandom which is going to be long and amazing!!! The first chapter is up and it already destroys my heart. 
> 
> If you liked this then please let me know in the comments!! They brighten up my life


End file.
